The Adventures of Dante Ryan
by Dilicious The DD
Summary: The experiences of the Victorious gang from the perspective of an OC. Cori, Jandre, Beck/Robbie, one sided Trina/OC
1. First Day, Part 1

**A/N:_ I reuploaded this. Once again, this is my first fic, let alone Victorious fic. I hope you like it._**

_**And, I don't own Victorious. Dan Schneider does.**_

Dante Ryan was just a simple guy. A reasonably talented guy, but a simple guy nonetheless. He had simple needs: Eat, sleep, pee, poop; you know, the usual for humans. By some act of the gods, however, this simple guy got into Hollywood Arts, one of the more elite performance arts schools in LA. It was no easy task, let me tell you. Being a drum player, he didn't have much to offer on his own in the musical department. Luckily for him, he was a talent with cinematography. That talent is what got him into Hollywood Arts.

As Dante walked into the building, he noticed how much different it was from his previous school. The lockers were all decorated uniquely, each seemingly representing the person it belonged to in some way. All the kids were either practicing dance moves or playing some type of instrument. '_Well, I'm definitely not in Kansas anymore,_' Dante thought as he walked through the hallway. While he walked, he noticed two girls speaking to each other. The first was a brunette, pretty with perfect cheekbones. She was wearing a loose, sleeveless top and tight skinny jeans and low top sneakers. The second was shorter, with hair that could be described as red velvet, wearing a light peach colored sundress and flats. Deciding to take initiative, Dante approached the young ladies.

"Uh, excuse me ladies," Dante interrupted as politely as he could "could either of you direct me to, uh, Sikowitz's classroom?" They both looked at him, the brunette curiously and the redhead flirtatiously.

"Yeah, actually we're headed there ourselves. I'm Tori Vega" the brunette introduced herself "And this is my friend, Cat Valentine" gesturing to the smaller girl, who waved at Dante. With a dopey grin on his face, Dante waved back.

"Oh, I'm Dante Ryan. As you can probably tell by my question, I'm new here. If you could both do me the honor of escorting me to the class, I'd be grateful."

"Yeah, sure we can!" Cat answered "Right, Tori?"

"Yeah, definitely. C'mon follow us. We'll lead the way." Tori and Cat began walking to Sikowitz's class, leaving Dante to follow.

On their way to the class, Cat started rambling on about something her brother had done. Dante had tried to keep up, but it was too much for him to handle. Tori, seeing this, offered him some advice "Don't worry. She goes on like this all the time. It's best to just tune her out most of the time"

"Ah, uh, ok." Even though he felt bad, Dante did what she said anyway and tuned Cat out, leaving himself to his thoughts. '_Hmm, well I have two potential friend candidates here and they're both pretty girls! What luck!_' "Here we are, Dante!" Cat exclaimed. Dante, busy in his own head, was somewhat surprised that they had gotten there so soon.

"Come on, we're going be late!" Cat dragged him and Tori into the room.

Dante took a seat near the middle of the room. Tori and Cat made their way to the front and sat down, continuing their chat from earlier. Dante looked around the room, getting a feel for his classmates. They seemed pretty normal and definitely out of the ordinary. _'But appearances can be deceiving. These guys have to be crazy talented. I wonder what talents Tori and Cat have_' Dante thought as he noticed that two more people entered the room. Both guys, the one on the left was holding a puppet, wearing a polo shirt and what seem to be woman's jeans and Vans, while the one on the right, with dreads, was wearing a baseball tee with baggy jeans and high tops. They sat themselves behind Dante, not noticing him due to them being deep in their own conversation. Dante decided not to listen in, finding Cat and Tori holding hand stuck out to him. _'…huh, must be a girl thing_' and thought nothing more of it

Hearing the door open, Dante turned to the back of the room. Again, he saw another pair of people enter. This time it was both a boy and girl. The guy was wearing an unbuttoned button down shirt and jeans with boots. His hair was particularly nice and fluffy, very enviable. He bore a resemblance to the Disney hero, Aladdin. The girl was decked out in all black, a black sweater, black jeans and black combat boots. Her hair was black with blue streaks in it. She was beautiful. Dante could tell that she was out of his reach though. She seemed to be with the fluffy haired, Aladdin guy.

Dante turned back to the front and noticed a strange man climbing through the window. He was bald and was wearing a long sleeved shirt with a vest and pajama bottoms with no shoes on. '_Isn't uh, isn't anyone gonna say anything about this guy?_' Dante thought, looking around the classroom. Everyone treated it like it was a completely normal occurrence. As soon as the man dusted himself off, he walked to the center of the stage in the room and said "Well class, I hear there is a new student in our class. Please, let's all welcome, Mr. Dante Ryan." The entire class proceeded to all stare at the new kid, taking him in. Wearing a fitted baseball cap, hooded sweatshirt, jeans and boots, he wasn't all that exciting to look at. Dante, who was currently blushing from all the attention, looked down and mumbled "Thank you for the introduction, Mr…"

"Sikowitz. Erwin Sikowitz, acting teacher here at Hollywood Arts!" Sikowitz, who while Dante was looking down at his shoes, had snuck up in front of him and was now invading Dante's personal space. "…Sikowitz. Could you like, back up a bit? We are way too close right now"

"Ah, yes, of course" Sikowitz said as he pranced away back on stage. "Yes, now that introductions are done with, we can begin the lesson…"

xXx

LUNCH TIME! The best part of the day for our gluttony protagonist, Dante. After gathering some pizza and a burrito ("MEXICAN –ITALIAN FOOD EXTRAVAGANZA" as Dante called it) from the Grub Truck and then looked for a place to sit. Looking around, he noticed Tori and Cat sitting together with the puppet guy and the dread guy. Seeing as he knew the girls, he decided to sit down with them and see what happens.

"TORI! CAT!" Dante calls out. The girls heard him calling them and they wave him over. As he makes his way over and sits down, the puppet speaks "Who the hell are you and how do you know these two fine ladies?"

"Rex! Don't be rude" the puppeteer scolds.

"Rex, huh? Very, uh, dinosaur-y. And what's your name, dude?" Dante asks the puppeteer.

"His name's Robbie Shapiro. And I'm André Harris" said the guy with the dreads.

"Ah, alright. The name's Dante Ryan. I'm new here"

"Yeah, we remember. Sikowitz made that very clear" says Robbie.

"Right, Sikowitz. Is he always that…uh, out there?" Dante mumbles, being reminded of his earlier encounter with the man.

"Haha, yeah. There was one time one time that he was sad and we thought it was Tori's fault but then it wasn't Tori's fault it was because of his girlfriend's cat!" said Cat.

"Uh, ok. Thanks for that, Cat" Dante replied politely.

While they were explaining to Dante what exactly Cat was talking about, the table was approached by both the Aladdin guy and the beautiful goth chick from earlier. They both simply sat down, the goth glaring at Tori while the Aladdin guy attempted to make conversation with Dante.

"Hey, you're the new kid, uh, Dante, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's me, Dante Ryan. And you two are…"

"Beck Oliver. And this is my girlfriend, Jade West."

"I don't like you," Jade said.

"Um, alright," Dante replied uneasily.

"Jade, be nice," Beck said to his girlfriend

"But he's a loser."

"Jade…"

"Ugh, whatever" Jade replied nastily. '_She's pretty, but she's definitely a bitch_' Dante thought as he and the rest of the group continued their lunch.

"So Dante, tell us about yourself. What are you here for?" Tori asked, curious to see what hidden talents Dante had.

"Uh, well. I like to consider myself a cinematographer. Good with lighting and camera angles and stuff. Y'know, a techy type of guy" Dante replied.

"Ah, so you're just like that creepy loser Sinjin." Jade said, smirking smugly at Dante.

"Who's Sinjin? Should I know who he is?" Dante asked, confused about this 'SInjin' character.

"…I'm Sinjin" a voice said right next to Dante's ear.

"HOLY SH-!" Dante shot up out of his seat, banging his knees against the table in the process. "OW!" Dante yelled as he fell to the floor. The group all shot up and hovered over him, worried expressions on their faces except for Jade, who was grinning. Dante looked up and noticed an unfamiliar face. Messy, curly hair, glasses, a tye dye shirt and skinny jeans along with sneakers is what Dante saw. "…you're 'Creepy' Sinjin?" Dante asked warily.

"I am he" SInjin replied "Hi Jade-"

"GO AWAY" Jade barked at Sinjin.

"And away I go" Sinjin said as he fled the scene. André bent down to help Dante up, who gladly accepted the help.

"Why are you all standing around for?" a new voice asked. The group looked at the source of the voice, seeing it to be a brunette, wearing a loose top, tight jeans and heels with straps. '_Who…who is this beautiful woman and when can we get married?_' Dante asked himself

"Ugh, Trina, go away, no one likes you" Jade said with disgust. Trina huffed and said

"Well! I know when I'm not wanted! Outta my way" she stalked through the group, passing Dante.

"Hi, I'm –"

"DON'T CARE" Trina yelled as she brushed past Dante, almost knocking him over. Dante turned around and watch her leave. '_That luxurious hair, Her beautiful face, her nice –_'

"Dante!"

"Huh?"

"Lunch is over, Dante" Cat said "Everyone else is gone. C'mon, we're gonna be late!" Cat yelled over her shoulder as she ran inside. '_Cool school, Cool people and Trina? I think I definitely like this school_' Dante thought as he walked inside the building.

**_And that's the end of the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review and let me know what you thought._**


	2. First Day, Part 2

**A/N:_ Finally, the second chapter has arrived! It features a part written by the wonderful Graceful Amethyst. I hope you guys enjoy it._**

**_Oh, and I don't own Victorious_**

School was over. Dante exited the building, happy to be done with school for the day. Feeling a vibration in his pants, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. The screen said 'Mom' and he had a feeling; somehow, this wasn't a good news phone call. Sighing, he hit 'Answer' on the screen and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Dante! It's your mother speaking."

"I know, Mother. The phone has Caller ID."

"Oh, right. Of course. So, guess what honey?"

"Do I really have to-"

"YES!"

"…ok, what is it?"

"Your father and I are going on a cruise!"

"That's awesome, Mom! When-"

"With YOUR RENT MONEY!"

"…what."

"Y'know, the money we were going to send you for the rent for your apartment! We spent it on this 6 month cruise!"

"…why? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?" Dante bellowed, gathering the attention of other students who were walking around him. He didn't care at the moment, though. He had more important things to worry about other than how he looked yelling into a phone.

"Well, the money wasn't being used-"

"OF COURSE IT WAS BEING USED. **I **WAS USING IT. FOR MY APARTMENT. WHICH I NOW CAN'T PAY RENT FOR"

"…Well, I see you're busy honey. I guess we can call back later."

"NO, MOM! WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THIS. HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO-"

-Call ended-

"Mom? MOM? ARGH" Enraged, Dante took his phone and threw it against the pavement, causing the phone to fall apart on impact. "…Damn, that just bit me in the ass" Dante sat down on the curb and began to think '_Oh jeez. What the heck do I do know? My parents just screwed me over big time. My rent is due tomorrow and I have no money to pay it. Where am I gonna stay?_ _Maybe I can find someone to stay with_' Dante looked around, hoping to find someone he recognized among those who were going home. '_…Hey, is that…BECK! I'd recogn__ize that fluffy hair anywhere_' Dante spotted Beck in the parking lot, accompanied by Jade. Realizing his opportunity, he made his way towards them.

"Beck! Hey buddy!" Dante said as he walked up to Beck and Jade. "Hey, uh, I was wondering if I could ask you something important."

"Uh, sure. Go ahead." Beck was curious to see what exactly Dante wanted and waited expectantly for his question.

"Could I, uh, live with you? See, I'm kinda gonna be evicted in like, a day, and I need a place to stay."

"Uh-"

"No." Jade interrupted. "Beck doesn't need a roommate. He has me."

"You live with him?" Dante questioned

"No, she doesn't. But she spends all her time in my trailer so she practically does." Beck answered for Jade.

"Oh, alright. Wait, trailer?"

"I live in a trailer in my parent's driveway. My dad said if I live under his roof, I follow his rules. Well, the trailer is my roof, so, my rules"

"Huh. That's pretty cool. So, can I crash with you?"

"Actually you can't. And it's not because of Jade. I don't really have enough room in my trailer for another person, sorry."

"Damn. Well it was worth a shot. Thanks anyway, dude." Turning to Jade, Dante started "Jade, can I stay with-"

"NO. Go ask Vega or someone else. I don't want you in my house." She turned to Beck "Can we get out of here now?"

"Sure, babe. Later, Dante" Beck said as he entered his pickup truck.

"Yeah. Bye Beck, bye –"

"Yeah, whatever" Jade responded nastily. Dante watched as Beck started the car and they drove off. '_Well, that was a bust. Might as well do what Jade said and ask Tori. She seems much nicer and more willing to help_' Dante thought to himself

Dante searched the emptying parking lot for Tori. She was relatively easy to find, hanging out with the redheaded Cat. Walking over, he hoped that this attempt would go off better than his last one. "Hey girls, how are things?" he asked Tori and Cat.

"Hey Dante!" Cat smiled as she faced him.

"Yeah, what's up Dante?" Tori asked.

"Well, Tori, I need to ask you something. You see…" Dante proceeded to explain to them about the phone call and his talk with Beck and Jade earlier.

"Dante! That's terrible! One time, my brother had been kicked out of our house and-" Cat began

"Yeah, yeah Cat. Not right now. I gotta ask Tori something." Dante interrupted impatiently while Cat pouted, upset that he interrupted her story. "Tori, could I possibly crash at your house? I know it's sudden, but I really need a place to stay and-"

"Say no more. Of course you can stay with me. I'd be glad to give you a place to stay." Tori replied happily.

"Really? Oh, thanks Tori! I really appreciate it." Dante was relieved that he finally had somewhere to go. "But wait, what about your parents?"

"Oh, they won't mind. I'll call you later Cat. C'mon Dante!" Tori said as she waved goodbye to Cat and began her walk home. Dante followed her, eager to see the place he would be calling home for the next few months.

xXx

Dante was amazed. The house was huge. Nice couch, clean kitchen area. Cool staircase and a nice backyard area with some bushes. It was better than anything he'd ever lived in before. "Tori, your house is amazing! I can't believe you live in a place like this." Dante continued to look over his surroundings.

"Yeah, well my dad IS a cop, y'know" Tori proudly replied. "Hey, let me show you the upstairs" Tori said as she lead Dante upstairs. "Here is my room. And this-"

"TORI! Can you get me some juice please?" Trina's voice could be heard from the room Tori was going to show Dante.

"Not now, Trina!" Tori yelled back.

"Hey, is that Trina? She lives with you? Are you guys related or something?" Dante inquired

"Yeah, unfortunately. She's my sister." Tori grumbled. "Anyway, and here-"

"Please, Tori? I'm thirsty! Do your sistah a favor!" Trina pleaded.

"Ugh, fine Trina! Just let me finish showing Dante around" Tori angrily replied, facing Dante again. "So, as I was saying, this is –"

"Who's Dante?" Trina asked, bursting out of her room and almost smashing the door in Dante's face.

"I-I'm Dante" Dante replied shakily, nervous from the door almost hitting his face. "And you're the lovely Trina, I presume?" Switching into suave mode, Dante smirked, took Trina's hand and kissed it. Tori gagged.

"Hmm, I like him Tori. He's a keeper. Please, we must meet again so you can tell me how amazing and beautiful I am" Trina said as she headed back into her room. "And don't forget my juice, Tori!" she managed to say before she closed the door.

"Yeah yeah, whatever Trina. " Tori proceeded to continue her tour of her home. "That, as you can plainly see, is Trina's room. And this" gesturing to the door at the end of the hall "is the guest room, which is now your room." Tori opened the door, and they walked in.

Dante surveyed his room, taking in the queen sized bed, the dresser, and other assorted room things. Nodding, he said "Yeah, this definitely works." Turning back to Tori, he laughs "I'll take it! Thanks for the room, Tori. I really appreciate this."

"No problem Dante! Glad to help!" Tori happily replies. "Hey, let's go downstairs and watch some TV. I think CSI is on" she and Dante head downstairs.

xXx

However, they encountered an obstacle to their possible CSI marathon. Two obstacles, to be exact. Snuggled up on the couch were Tori's parents, distracted by the soft sounds coming from the TV.

"Oh! Retreat! Retreat!" Tori whispered harshly, pushing Dante backwards, panic clear in her brown eyes.

"Wha-" He asked, looking back at the couch, disoriented. "Oh, shit!"

Unfortunately for them, Tori's father heard their murmuring over the TV and turned. "Tori? There you are! Who's your friend?" The man asked, his tone nice but the guy his eyes surveyed Dante let him know that the man was on Father Mode.

"I'm..." The poor guy stuttered, paler by the minute and beads of sweat forming on his forehead. How did you even tell a man that his daughter was letting you live in their house?

"He's an exchange student! Yeah!" Tori recovered quickly, saving Dante from embarrassment and from possibly being beat up to death by her father. "He's from... Guanajuato."

"Ah, si, si! Guanajuato."

"Where's that...?" The Vega elder asked.

"Mexico."

"Spain." Both Tori and Dante replied at the same time, flinching when their answers didn't match. Feeling a surge of adrenaline, Dante stepped up, ready to play his part.

"You see, Senor... I was born in Spain, but grew up in Mexico, si? And now I am here. " He tried his best to mimic a Hispanic accent, but it felt like he was trying to imitate Speedy Gonzalez in all of his stereotypical glory. He had no idea where that lisp his voice held was coming from either. "Your house is very pretty. Bonita!" He gushed with a couple of excited claps, trying to remember any Spanish word mentioned on those novellas his mother liked to watch whenever she was busy ignoring him.

"Uh-huh..." Tori's father sized him up once more, his tone letting them know that he was not completely convinced, but he stretched out his hand. "Welcome to the US of A, son. Your name...?"

"Armando!" Tori almost screamed from her spot.

"Sם. I am Armando de la Cruz Morales Garcia Gonzalez," said Dante in a rush of air as he shook the man's hand almost daintily. Seriously, what was wrong with him?

"That's a, uh, long name, Armando. Pleasure to have you here with us."

"Gracias, Senor Tori's Dad."

"You can let go of my hand now, Armando..."

"Of course."

With that, his hand slipped away from the older man's, Tori's father going back to sit with his wife. From the staircase, Tori gave him an excited smile and a thumbs up for his performance, and ushered him back upstairs. Dante sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. He had averted a catastrophe just then and he only hoped he could avoid many more that were sure to come his way.

**A/N: _So you see, that last chunk of story was written by Graceful Amethyst. As you can see, she's much better than me. Go check out her Cade fic, Suited For the Role. Also, review please? It'd make my day_**


	3. Dante's Locker

**A/N:_ Chapter 3 is here! After the success of JLS, I got inspired. You guys are still weird but if you enjoyed the joke, who am I to judge? Especially as the one who came up with the idea. Anyway, let me stop rambling. Enjoy!_**

**_I don't own Victorious._**

'_The beginning of a brand new day in a house with two lovely ladies_' Dante thinks to himself happily as he stretches out, ready to begin the day '_and their cop dad_' he reminds himself as he got out of bed. Scratching himself, he then yawns and grabs his bathroom kit, heading to the bathroom. As he makes it to the bathroom, he realizes that there is someone in there. '_Ugh, cons to living with ladies: having to share the bathroom. I might as well head downstairs for breakfast._' After returning his bathroom kit to his room, he heads downstairs to join the other Vegas for breakfast.

When he makes it downstairs, he sees Tori eating cereal, along with Mr. and Mrs. Vega, reading the newspaper and drinking coffee respectively. '_Which leaves Trina as the one hogging the bathroom._' Dante makes his way to the kitchen for his own bowl of cereal. As he passes by, Tori greets him.

"Good morning, Da- Armando!" She quickly corrects herself after a quick glare from Dante. She giggles nervously as her parents notice Dante's prescience.

"Good morning, Armando." Mr. Vega says, waiting for a response from him.

"Buenos dias, Senor Tori's Dad! Senora Tori's Mom, a good morning to you as well." He greets them in his 'Armando' voice. "I am just going to get myself, how do you say, cereal." He makes it to the kitchen and proceeds to ready his bowl and get the cereal box. Trina then makes her presence known as she comes down the stairs, all dressed and ready.

"Morning all. I'm just going to get some low-fat yogurt and then I'm gonna head out." She announces to those in the house as she goes to the fridge to get her yogurt.

Dante, who by now is done getting his cereal, is about to go to the table when Trina almost bumps into him. In his haste to not crash into Trina, he almost drops the bowl.

"Watch where you're going, you!" She barks at him as she continues on her way to the fridge.

Dante, who is too busy staring at Trina's butt, manages to mumble out "Si, senorita." Mr. Vega notices this and coughs to get Dante's attention. Tori, who also notices Dante not so subtly checking Trina out, quickly makes an excuse for him.

"It's ok, Dad. He's just admiring her pants. Right, _Armando_?" Tori eyes say play along. So Dante does.

"Ay, si Senor. I am such a fan of the women's jeans. They tend to squeeze in _all _the right places." Dante says, staring at Tori's father with an odd smile on his face. Tori's father then clears his throat again, clearly uncomfortable with what Dante is implying.

"Right, of course." Dante shares a look with Tori, one that clearly says 'Thanks' and begins to eat his cereal in peace.

xXx

At school, Tori and Dante meet up with Cat and André in the school's parking lot. Together they make their way inside. Today, the dancers, singers and other performers of Hollywood Arts don't seem to intimidate Dante as much as they did the day before. He welcomes them, knowing that this will be where he goes to school for the next two years. As the four approach their lockers, Dante notices that their lockers are all decorated somehow. Tori, with her 'Make it Shine' light up locker and André's keyboard locker. His locker however is boring and dull. Just a regular locker, nothing special. Dante decided to bring this up.

"Hey guys, what's with your lockers?" Dante asks, while he stares in amazement at Tori and André's.

"What do you mean?" André notices Dante's stare but, clearly used to the sight of his own locker, doesn't share his amazement.

"I just mean that you have such cool stuff on your lockers and mine is so plain and not cool." Dante turns to face his locker, disappointment written all over his face.

"Oh, well it's a tradition here at Hollywood Arts to decorate your locker to represent yourself." Tori explains.

"Ah, so I can do stuff with my locker! But what…?" Dante ponders this conundrum as Beck and Jade approach.

"What are you four going on about?" Jade inquires with a look of boredom.

"Dante's gonna decorate his locker!" Cat answers, excited about the prospect.

"Hmph. This is Vega all over again. He's gonna spend _all day_ asking us about our own lockers in an attempt to get an idea all the while he continuously comes up with lamer and lamer ones." Jade rants, irritated at the memory of Tori's attempt to decorate her locker.

"Hey! I wasn't that annoying, was I guys?" No one but Dante and Jade could look her directly in the eye when she said that, Jade with a smirk and Dante with a look of confusion.

"Well Jade, for your information, I wasn't going to do any of that stuff." Mentally crosses off 'Approach Gang with Different Ideas' off his list. "I'll come up with something awesome, don't you worry. It will be amazing and crazy and creative. I SWEAR IT!" Dante yells as he stalks off, gears already turning in an attempt to come up with something amazing to 'shove in Jade's stupid pretty face', in his own words.

They watch him stalk off, everyone silent after his declaration. Robbie, noticing that the gang was all together, walks up with Rex. He notices their silence and Dante still walking away, he asks,

"What's his problem?" Rex has his own thoughts.

"Ha, Newbie got tired of y'all and wanted some space. Yeah, I can understand where he's coming from. Sometimes you people annoy me that much that I wish I could run away from you myself, if I wasn't attached to this nerd." Robbie took offense to what Rex said but before he could respond, the bell rang.

"Time for class! Yaaaaaay!" Cat yells as she runs towards Sikowitz's classroom. The rest of the gang follows.

Dante meets the gang in Sikowitz's class, taking a bit of time alone to cool off. Sikowitz makes his usual entrance through the back door and begins to speak to the class.

"Ok class. Today, we are going to practice romantic dialogues. Jade, André, come up and show us how it's done" He points to the two and they both walk to the stage, Jade annoyed, and André somewhat hesitant. As they begin their dialogue, Dante beings to zone out and think about his locker.

'_Uh…a giant Etch-A-Sketch! Etch-A-Sketches are cool! Everyone loves those. And you can draw whatever you want on those. …Which leaves room for people like _Jade _to vandalize it .Dang, and it was such a cool idea too. Ok, ok. Uh, umm… Hats! Yeah, I could put some hats on the locker and…no; I like my hats._' As if to prevent someone from taking his hat for the day, a knit cap, he puts his hands protectively on his head. '_No, hat idea bad. Argh! Why can't I come up with anything good?_' Dante was so deep inside his own head he didn't notice Cat continuously shoving him. After another 3 shoves, she begins to panic, and in her panic, slaps him. Dante, not prepared for such an act, falls off his chair and onto the floor.

"OW! What the heck? Cat! What was that for?" Dante palms his sore cheek, trying to alleviate the stinging.

"Sikowitz told me to get you out of your daze. You were holding your head and muttering 'hats' over and over. Plus, it's our turn!" She gives him a hand to help him up. "C'mon Dante, you're heavy."

"Alright, Alright." Dante, with Cat's help, gets off the floor and walks up to the stage with Cat.

Sikowitz, in a chair with the rest of the class, gestures to Cat and Dante.

"Ok, begin." He, and the rest of the class, sit quietly and focused on the two students in the front of the room. They want to see Dante's acting chops.

"Reginald, our love, it is forbidden. I, a princess, and you, a simple cobbler, could never be together. It is looked down upon." Cat began, gazing at Dante sadly.

Dante, not an actor and definitely not a quick thinker, stood there. He could only stand there as his mind went blank and he couldn't think of anything to say to Cat. Cat, realizing Dante was in trouble, acted quickly.

"Your frustration at society's rules has left you speechless. Alas, I must go. But before I leave, a parting gift I will leave you." She puts her hand on Dante's cheek, leans in and their lips touched. Tori twitched. Dante, in shock, didn't reciprocate. Cat then ended the kiss, their lips making a small sound when they separated. She then dramatically walked away from Dante and off the stage. The class clapped. Dante stood there, staring at the wall. Tori watched Cat sit down and whispered something in her ear. Cat giggled and whispered something back. Sikowitz, getting tired of seeing Dante stand there like a lump, decided that he should do something about it.

"Oh, Dante? Could you do us all a favor and get off the stage? I have to get on with the lesson and I can't do that with you just standing there." Dante, finally realizing where he was, blushed and quickly shuffled off stage. Sikowitz walks up to the stage and begins speaking.

"Ok class. Now, let us get on with the lesson. Today, we will…"

xXx

The gang is sitting at their usual table at lunch. Cat and Tori are having a discussion with André and Robbie. Beck and Jade are whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears. Dante sits there, mindlessly chewing on his burger, thinking about the events from earlier. '_I can't believe my first kiss was with Cat and not…Trina. I like Cat, don't get me wrong. But not like that. She doesn't have the curves I like. Not that she doesn't have a little somethin' somethin', just not what Trina has. …Ugh, I completely forgot about the locker. It has to represent me, huh… Why not something that introduces me to the student body? Like, uh… photos? No no no. Something better. Something with effort…_' Dante munched on his burger as he continued thinking.

"Wa-la! I finished it!" Cat giggles as she shows the gang her finished product. It was a sketch, a well drawn one of the gang. Tori and Cat are hugging, smiles evident on their faces. Robbie looks nervous, holding a stoic Rex. André was playing his keyboard, a wide grin on his face. Beck and Jade back to back, hands intertwined, Beck looking up, Jade looking down. It is a beautiful sketch. The gang is impressed with Cat's skill, even Jade (grudgingly), but Dante is the one who is truly blown away. It also sparks an idea for his locker in his head, the final step he needed. Cat was the only one who could make it all happen though.

Lunch is ending and the gang is going their separate ways for classes. Dante runs up to Cat and stops her, eager to ask her about his locker. She looks at him, worried about something.

"Dante, if this is about the kiss, it doesn't mean I like you. It was a stage kiss and, oh, I already went through this with Robbie and I can't go through it again it was-"Dante stops her, confusion written all over his face.

"What? No, I don't care about the kiss. I wanted to talk to you about my locker. I have an idea for what to do with it and I need your help!" Dante looks at Cat, hoping she agrees. She smiles.

"Of course I'll help! I'm glad to help. What do you need me to do?" Dante grins.

"Ok, here's what I need you to do…"

xXx

School is over for Dante and the gang. André, Beck, Jade, Robbie and Tori are all at their lockers, packing up for the day. They then notice Dante covering up his locker with a tarp, Cat by his side, giggling and bouncing on her heels. The gang, interested in what Dante had done to his locker, made their way to the pair. Cat notices them first and excitedly greets them.

"Hey guys! Come look! Dante and I finished working on his locker." Cat can't keep the smile off her face as she said that. Dante looks pretty pleased himself and begins to speak to the group as a whole.

"Welcome friends, and _Jade_." Jade isn't too pleased at being singled out, but Dante continues, ignorant of what Jade thinks. "Allow me to reveal my new and improved, thanks to Cat, locker!' Dante pulls the tarp off, revealing his locker to them. Their faces give away how they feel. Looks of shock are on all their faces, awe at what Dante and Cat have managed to create in such little time.

Dante, realizing no one was going to straight up ask about it, decided to explain. "Guys, remember the '9 Circles of Hell' from Dante's Inferno? Well I managed to come up with the 9 Layers of Dante'!" Cat takes the lead.

"He came up with it and asked me to draw it! It shows all the stuff Dante likes and stuff!"

"Yeah, I figured, like you guys said, it has to show something about me. The lower you get, the more I like it. So, the first level is general stuff I like, so I put you guys. Yes, even you, Jade. The next level is for people I'm attracted to, so I put Trina. The third-"Jade chooses this time to interrupt.

"Hold on, hold on. You're in _love _with that gank?" In disbelief, she continues. "She's selfish, untalented and overall, a GANK!"

"Sorry, but I gotta agree with Jade here. She is a weird person to be in love with." Tori adds.

"Guys, guys, guys, I'm not _in love _with Trina. I just met her yesterday. That's stupid. I just, maybe, might, probably have a crush on her. That's all. Now, can we continue with my locker?" Dante's annoyance at the topic switch seems to have quieted them down, as they say nothing.

"I like Trina, Dante." Dante twitches.

"CAT!"

"I'm sorry!" She apologizes profusely as Dante continues.

"As I was saying, the third level is about foods I like, so pie. The fourth is things I have a collection of. Hats." Robbie asks Dante about this.

"Hats? Why hats?"

"I _love _hats, dude. Let's just leave it at that." Dante is quick to try to get back on track.

"…ok." Robbie is quick to oblige. The others look like they wanna say something, but choose to keep quiet instead.

"The fifth level is stuff I don't like, so slipper shoes. Y'know, shoes that you just slip your feet into and have no laces. I hate those. The sixth level is my own kinda personal code. Stuff like 'treat ladies with respect' and 'don't make fun of nerds while they're in the general area'. You know, general rules I like to follow that apply to me. I had a little trouble with the seventh level. How could I adapt Violence into something more positive? So I just switched it up into something completely different." André is the one who picks up on it.

"You picked music, huh? Nice choice. "

"Thanks. I split it into three circles: Genres, Albums and Artists. It's all there." Cat interrupts Dante, tired of being quiet for so long.

"The eighth level is Dante's talents! Like filming movies and playing the drums." Jade decides she wants to give her input once again.

"You film, huh? Maybe you're not such a complete waste after all." Dante is confused by the backhanded comment, but laughs it off. André has something to say of his own.

"You play drums? Cool, man. I've been looking for a drummer since our last one transferred."

"Hey, you know I'm down to help whenever you need me, dude." André and Dante grin at each other after their exchange.

"Hey, what's this? The last level is just a drawing of you holding up the other eight levels." Tori points out the final level to the gang, who all begin to focus on the last level.

"Yeah, it's supposed to represent all those things lead into and make up me." Beck finally makes his own comment about the mural.

"Deep. I like it."

"Yeah, I love it, Dante. So creative." Tori adds.

"This is real cool." André says, nodding in approval.

"It's way better than my locker." Robbie's statement leads to Rex making a comment of his own

"Yeah, of course it's better than you, the weirdo with baby bottle nipples on his locker." Robbie becomes flustered.

"It reminds me of when I was a child!" Jade stops him before he can go any further.

"Yeah, it's actually not terrible, Ryan. Better than Vega's silly 'Make it Shine' light 'em up."

"Hey! I thought long and hard about that one and I thought it was a great idea!" Jade scoffs.

"You would think that." Cat decides to interrupt them.

"I love it too, Dante! Especially since I helped make it!" Dante laughs at Cat's enthusiasm.

"I'm glad you all like it. It means a lot that my new friends are so accepting of me. Anyway, c'mon , let's get outta here. I don't really like being in school longer than need be. "Dante began walking towards the exit, the rest of the gang following closely behind.

**A/N: _I didn't really like the ending but it kinda just seemed like a good place to stop at the same time, so...I did. Hope you enjoyed it. And please, as always, review!_**


	4. Moving Day and Cellphones

**A/N: **_**Wow, I don't really like this chapter. My flow was seriously hampered in this one. I shouldn't have forced it. But, it still isn't completely terrible so it gets posted. I hope you guys enjoy me on an off day.**_

_**I don't own Victorious**_

It's after school. Dante and the gang are leaving Hollywood Arts to head home. They're still discussing Dante's locker and how he came up with the idea with Cat. As he is enlightening them on his thought process and how he got to the '9 Layers of Dante' idea, he suddenly remembers something.

"Uh…guys?" Dante looks troubled and the gang can obviously tell due to the look on his face.

"What is it, Dante?" Tori asks, speaking for the group who are all equally curious.

"Well, two things. First off, I gotta get my stuff from my old apartment. I mean, I managed to get enough for a night yesterday but I gotta pick up the rest of it."

"No problem, man. Beck and me will help out. We'd be glad to." André offers his and Beck's services.

"Thanks, guys. I really need the help too." Dante happily accepts. Robbie is less than pleased.

"Hey! What about me? I can help too!" Jade and Rex scoff.

"Please, Rob! With your noodle arms, you couldn't lift diddly!"

"For once, I agree with the puppet." Robbie is offended at Jade and Rex's accusations. Dante tries to appease Robbie in order to calm him down.

"Robbie, calm down. Of course you can help!" Dante is dragged away by André and Beck.

"Dude, no. Robbie is…not the best person to help with heavy lifting." Beck tries to explain, but Dante isn't having it.

"C'mon, he wants to help. It's not like we need him to do any actual heavy lifting. He can, I don't know, carry my hats or something." André sighs.

"Don't say we didn't try to warn you." They go back to the rest of the group.

"Ok Robbie, you can come with." Robbie smiles while Beck and André groan inwardly.

"Dante, what about the second thing?" Cat asked.

"Oh, right. I need a new cell phone. My last one…mysteriously broke." Dante mumbled, remembering how exactly his last cell phone was damaged.

"Ok, I got it. Dante, you go get your stuff and move with the guys. Cat, Jade-" Tori gets out the beginnings of her plan, but is interrupted by Jade.

"Nuh uh. Count me out. Just because I liked your locker, doesn't mean we're suddenly friends and I'd help either you _or _Vega. I'm out of here. Beck, I'll see you later." Jade walks away, leaving the rest of them to stare at her retreating form.

"Sorry about that, Tor. You know how she is." Beck apologizes and Tori sighs.

"It's alright, Beck. Anyway, Cat and I will be waiting at my house afterward to go and get the phone with you, Dante. You guys ok with that?"

"Yeah." "Yep." "Got it." Beck, André, and Dante all agree. Tori grins.

"Then it's settled! Cat, c'mon. Let's go meet with Trina so she can bring us home. Later, guys!" Tori and Cat leave the boys to their devices.

"Alright then. Let's get there in my truck. Dante can show me the way." Beck says as he and the guys head in the direction of Beck's truck.

xXx

Luckily for the boys, most of Dante's things haven't been unpacked yet. So the little things that had been unpacked, they repacked and began loading into the truck.

"Hey Rob, what's that?" Rex points out a dirty old, ratty looking box tor Robbie.

"I don't know. Let's see…" Robbie beings to open the box but Rex stop him.

"Oh man, this thing stinks. It's trash. Let's throw it in the incinerator!" Robbie is reluctant to do such a thing.

"I don't know, Rex. Maybe I should just ask Dante about it?" Rex disagrees.

"No, man. Remember how reluctant he was to have you come along? Asking him about this junk will only bother him. Just do him a favor and throw it out." Robbie gives in, lifting the box and carrying it to the incinerator.

"Alright, Rex. If you say so…" Robbie then opens the hatch and chucks the box inside. As he's doing this, Dante is walking towards him, a curious look on his face.

"Hey, Robbie. What did you just throw in there?" Robbie is happy to answer.

"Just some smelly, ratty old box. Looked like trash." Dante's eyes suddenly widen and he begins sweating. In a panic, he brushes past Robbie and back into the apartment. He hastily runs around, opening the boxes that remained inside. Robbie runs into the apartment, worried at Dante's reaction.

"What's wrong, Dante? Was that box not garbage?" Dante stops and slowly turns to Robbie.

"That box…that box had all my hats inside it! WHY WOULD YOU THROW IT AWAY? DID YOU NOT CHECK INSIDE IT FIRST?" Dante was enraged and Robbie could only nervously stutter out his answers.

"N-n-n-no. I mean, uh, Rex told me to just-"

"Rex? The freakin' puppet? The _puppet_ told you to throw out my hats?" Dante asked incredulously.

"Hey! That's a derogatory term!" Rex replied, offended at Dante's use of the word 'puppet'.

"I don't care! WHY DID YOU THROW OUT MY HATS?" Dante screamed.

"Hey, why would you put them in a dirty old box if they were so valuable to you?" Rex argues. Dante twitched.

"…Come here, you stupid puppet!" Dante ripped Rex from Robbie's hands and ran to the incinerator, Robbie close behind.

"You wanna throw my stuff in the incinerator! I'll throw you in the incinerator!" Dante opens the hatch, ready to chuck Rex inside, if it weren't for Robbie practically tackling Dante.

"Rob, help me! He's crazy!" Rex yells, pleading for Robbie's help.

"It was an accident, Dante. Rex didn't mean it!" Robbie tries to convince Dante, but Dante thinks otherwise.

"He's a damn puppet! You control him! Therefore _you _threw out my stuff. And now _I _will throw out your stuff!" Dante reasons from his spot on the floor.

"No!" Dante and Robbie began wrestling for Rex. Beck and André, who hear the commotion, run upstairs to find Dante and Robbie rolling around on the ground. They manage to pry the pair apart, André holding Dante and Beck holding Robbie. Dante is suddenly seemingly calm and André slackens his grip. As soon as he does, Dante tries to break free and rush towards Robbie. Luckily for him, André manages to get a good grip on Dante and stops him.

"C'mon, you know that stupid puppet deserves what I'm gonna do to him!" Dante yells, and Robbie just clutches Rex closer to him.

"André, take Dante downstairs and calm him down. I'm going to have a chat with Robbie, see what exactly happened here. We'll bring the rest of the stuff downstairs. André, you get Dante's side of the story." André nods and takes Dante downstairs with him. Beck stays with Robbie, who has an odd smile on his face as the other two boys leave.

André and Dante arrive downstairs and get inside Beck's truck. Dante sits silently as André says the first thing that pops inside his head.

"Told ya so." Dante isn't amused and refuses to look at André, who takes it as a sing to continue.

"Robbie's an alright dude. He just seems to mess stuff up all the time. One way or another. As you can now see." Dante sighs.

"I loved those hats dude. And now they're all gone." Dante grabs André and shakes him violently. "MY HATS! I HAVE TO BUY ALL NEW ONES!" Dante screams, while André tries to loosen Dante's grip.

"Calm down bro. You still have the one you wore yesterday. And the one you're wearing now. So it's not a complete loss. It's still pretty bad though."

"Right, right. Thanks, André. I think I'm back to normal." Dante looks to the side and sees Beck and Robbie walking down the stairs, boxes in tow. Robbie looking flushed and disheveled while Beck is smoothing his hair out. They load up the boxes and enter the truck. Robbie turns back to Dante, ready to say something.

"No. I think it would be best if you didn't talk to me for the rest of the day, Robbie." Robbie closes his mouth, frowns and turns back around, clearly disappointed at with how Dante is treating him.

The ride to Tori's is silent. Beck is focused on driving, André and Robbie are in their own heads and Dante is staring out the window, watching the scenery. They soon reached the Vega household. The boys begin unloading the things off the truck, Robbie, being barred by Dante from touching anything else, decides to ring the doorbell. Cat is the one who opens, looking all disheveled and flustered.

"Hi Robbie! What brings you here?" Cat asks, and Robbie gives her a questioning look.

"I'm here with the guys to bring Dante's stuff over, remember? We agreed upon this earlier?" Rex decides to butt in.

"Rob, this girl is loco! Just get Tori over and let's get on with it!" Robbie didn't take kindly to Rex's order.

"You be quiet! You got me in trouble with Dante all because of that stupid box! I don't have to listen to you!" Cat, who has been standing there quietly watching the two argue, decides to head back inside to get Tori.

"Who is it, Cat?" Tori appeared, straightening out her shirt, "Oh, Robbie! That must mean the boys are back." Tori then faces Cat.

"Let's go see if they need any help."

"Ok!" Cat replies happily and the two girls leave Robbie arguing with Rex.

xXx

"Thanks for the help guys," Dante thanks André and Beck, "And _Robbie_." Dante practically grows out Robbie's name, who jumps and runs behind Beck.

"No problem, Dante. We were glad to!" André and Beck then head out with Robbie, leaving Dante with the girls.

"Ok gals, should we get the cellphone now?" Dante asks them.

"Don't you want to spruce up your room or something first?" Tori asks, curious at why Dante is so eager to leave the house.

"I don't really wanna be around my stuff right now. Robbie kinda burned my hat collection-" Cat gasps.

"Oh no! Did he do it on purpose?" Dante sighs.

"No, but I was really wazzed off at him. I just wanna take my mind off things. So, let's go get that cell!" Dante ends the sentence happily and begins walking out of the house. The girls look at him leaving, then at themselves. He pops in the doorway, "C'mon girls, it's getting late. We should head out now while there's still daylight!" He then walks back out. The girls silently follow him.

The walk to the phone provider store was one filled with small talk and Dante filling in the girls on what happened back at the apartment. Cat gasps, Tori tries not to laugh and Dante bites back a tear as he remembers his hat collection. They almost lost Cat a few times thanks to candy shops and ice cream parlors. After 20 minutes, they made it to their destination.

Entering the Pear Store, Dante was amazed at all the Pear products. PearBooks, PearpPods, PearPads and PearPhones of all types littered the shelves of the store. Dante and the girls head to the PearPhone section of the store. The girls check out the new models while Dante goes to speak to the clerk.

"Hey, um I was wondering if I could get a, uh, PearPhone?" The clerk faces Dante and begins to describe all the different makes and models to him.

xXx

"Oh man! I can't wait to try this thing out when we get home!" Dante excitedly rambles on about all the features to Tori and Cat, who are lessed than impressed.

"Dante, we have them too. It's nothing new to us." The girls show him their respective phones, both PearPhones. Dante's excitement diminishes.

"Well…I'm sure the guys would be excited for me!" Dante rationalizes but Cat dashes his hopes.

"They have 'em too. And so does Jade." Dante stops walking.

"Wait…you _all _have PearPhones?"

"Yep! Isn't it cool?" Dante was incredulous.

"But…what about diversity and…different models and…"

"We all have Pear products. And now you do too!" Cat is happy for Dante. Dante, however, isn't happy for himself. The girls continue walking ahead, leaving Dante standing there mumbling to himself.

"I…wanted to be different…." Fighting the urge to tear up at the thought of conforming to PearCorp's products, he runs ahead to catch up with Tori and Cat.

**A/N: **_**And that's that. Nothing much to say other than review! I'd love to see what you guys thought of this chapter. **_


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